The Food Safety Information Council today released their food safety tips about how to enjoy the festive season and Summer entertaining safely, reminding those who prepare and consume food to ‘Look before you cook’ and check cooking, storage instructions and expiry dates, especially use by dates, on food packaging.

Julian Cox, the Council’s Scientific Director, said that this Summer we are all looking forward to getting together with generations of family and friends who likely include those most at risk of food poisoning: the very young, elderly, pregnant, and people with poor immune systems.

‘With an estimated 4.67 million cases of food poisoning a year in Australia we all want to keep our family and friends safe, which we can do by following these five key festive season and Summer entertaining food safety tips:

1. Make space – make room in your fridge for perishable foods by removing alcohol and soft drinks and put them on ice in a container, esky or laundry sink. This reduces the frequency of opening the fridge, helping to maintain the temperature at 5°C or below. Use a fridge thermometer to check the fridge temperature stays at 5°C or below (the colder the better!).
2. Talking turkey – think about getting a turkey breast – they are simpler to cook, rather than a whole turkey. If you do need a whole turkey ask your supermarket or butcher if they sell them fresh rather than frozen, and don’t forget you will still need cold storage space before cooking. Always follow storage and cooking instructions on any packaging, ask your retailer for storage and cooking advice if buying unpackaged, or seek information from a reputable website (such as ours www.foodsafety.asn.au).Remember to use a meat thermometer to check that the temperature in the thickest part reaches 75°C.
3. Christmas ham won’t last forever – check the storage instructions and best before or use by dates before removing the ham from its plastic wrap. Cover it with a clean cloth (or ‘ham bag’) soaked in water and vinegar (1 litre of water with at least two tablespoons (50-60ml) of vinegar), keep the cloth moist so it doesn’t dry out, change the cloth every three days, and store the covered ham in the fridge at or below 5°C. Reduced salt hams are now becoming popular but will not last as long as conventional hams. Think how much ham you are going to use in the next few days and freeze the rest for later.
4. Phased roll-out – Don’t leave perishable chilled foods out, unrefrigerated, in the heat of Summer for more than 2 hours. These foods include cold meats, soft cheeses like Camembert and Brie, cold poultry, cooked seafood like prawns and smoked salmon, dips, pâtés, sushi and salads. Put out small amounts initially, and replace them (do not top them up) from the fridge.
5. Love those leftovers Refrigerate or freeze leftovers as soon as possible. If perishable foods and leftovers have been left out of the fridge for less than two hours they should be okay to eat, refrigerate or freeze. Consider their use. If you’re likely to consume them within 2-3 days, keeping them in the fridge is okay, but any longer, and it’s then best to package into small, airtight containers, and freeze.

‘Finally, if you get an air fryer for Christmas remember that, while they are popular and easy to use, there have been individual foodborne disease cases around the country linked to them, especially when cooking crumbed products that may look cooked on the outside but aren’t fully cooked on the inside. We recommend you read the cooking instructions in the manual that came with the air fryer, follow any cooking instructions on food packaging, and use a thermometer to check temperature,’ Associate Professor Cox concluded.

The Food Safety Information Council would like to thank Neogen our member and Gold Sponsor for Australian Food Safety Week 2024 and our Summer campaign as well as our partner Tonic Media Network who will be showing our handwashing and food safety community service announcements in GP, Pharmacy and hospital waiting rooms around Australia this Summer

For more information check reputable websites include our own, at the Food Safety Information Council www.foodsafety.asn.au, FSANZ www.foodstandards.gov.au, or the relevant food authority site in your State or Territory.

Media contacts: Julian Cox 0468 989 180 or julian.cox@unsw.edu.au